The data module of the flight recorder from Air France flight 447 was found Sunday nearly 13,000 feet deep in the Atlantic. The discovery was made four days after a remote-controlled submarine first spotted other parts of the data recorder.
According to the French agency responsible for the accident investigation, the Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses, the memory unit (pictured above) has been retrieved and is aboard a recovery ship supporting the search.
The BEA has not commented on the condition of the data inside the device, but did say the module appears to be in good shape.
Air France flight 447 crashed on June 1, 2009 when the Airbus A330 disappeared on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. For nearly two years the search for the airplane and the flight data recorder has been taking place in waters more than two miles deep.
The data recorder, made by Honeywell International, can log as much as 24 hours worth of flight information. And the device can withstand a depth of 20,000 feet. But it is not known whether or not the data storage device can survive for a long period of time such as the 23 months of flight 447's device.
The first wreckage of the flight was announced back on April 3 after four separate search operations. The cockpit voice recorder has not yet been found.
Image: BEA
